


At The Ball - Gladio/Reader

by Ancientwhitefire



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ancientwhitefire/pseuds/Ancientwhitefire
Summary: last one in the ball-scenario series i have! this is probably my fave now that i reworked it a bit, as i had to tweak it slightly. I'm a HUGE Gladdy Daddy fan if you can't tell and I hope i did him justice!
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	At The Ball - Gladio/Reader

You had a very close relationship with your brother. So much so that when you found out your brother’s dream was coming true, you were ecstatic. So when the time came for the event at the palace to honor the new Kingsglaive members, you were overjoyed. You were also not only excited for your brother, and obviously attending to honor him with your parents, but you had never been to the palace before and had dreamed of it several times. Though when you got there you only got to marvel at the architecture for a short period as many people were in attendance. You quickly lost sight of your brother and your parents and found yourself slowly walking amongst the attendees. However, with all the people you were quickly learning there was hardly enough room in the banquet hall - which seemed silly - as you found yourself consistently brushing elbows with people and having to excuse yourself. The more you stood around the more foolish you felt and you were quickly panicking. As you worked harder to look for your parents or any sign of a Kingsglaive member in hopes of spotting your brother or one of his friends you are shoved by a partygoer. And during their collision with you, they had stepped on the hem of your dress which caused you to trip over your own feet. As you began careening for the floor and praying not too many people would laugh at you as you tumbled to the ground unceremoniously, a hero appears as if from nowhere and catches you around the waist before you get too close to the floor. You gasp at the contact but are relieved you’re not splayed on the floor haphazardly.   
“Careful there, it’s fortunate I was here.” Came the gruff voice of your savior, but you were too preoccupied with how close you came to falling to meet his face. “Are you alright, miss?” It also didn’t help that his voice was alluring and you felt flush starting at where his hands wrapped around your waist almost perfectly and how it felt as if you were being dipped in a sensual romantic dance.   
“I’m so sorry - gods, I,” You begin to apologize for being so uncoordinated (though it wasn’t your fault) and face the man for the first time, but your eyes widen to the size of dinner plates as you stare at the handsome face that has his hands clutched around you, and you suddenly forget how to breathe. “…hi.” You breathe out in almost a whisper. The man can’t help but smile at you faltering in your apology.  
“Hi, are you hurt?” He asks, fighting his amusement to double-check on you.   
“Uh, no, I’m okay, thank you…” You continue mindlessly as you are still reeling from how handsome a single man can be. He lifts you up back to standing straight, so you are forced to focus your attention on looking up at him, as he towered over you even in heels. You look around and sees that no one seemed to care or really take note of your near trauma. Somewhat relieved, you turn back to thank the man properly this time, but once again hesitate as you feel somewhat intimidated by his size. “Hi.” You spoke again before thinking.   
“You said the already.” He acknowledges with a smirk. You blush but bite the inside of your cheek to keep your grounded and to not break your composure – or rather regain your composure you thoroughly lost.   
“… Yes, I did.” You admit weakly. You take a breath and then dare to meet his stare head-on. “I’m Y/N.”   
“Gladiolus.” He introduces smoothly, as he nods his head. You smile at his name.   
“Thank you, Gladiolus.” You thank properly and your confidence begins to grow.   
“No thanks required, no need for you to get so acquainted with the floor.” He jokes with a grin, and you have to bite your tongue to prevent from laughing too loud at his joke, which he finds amusing. He then debates over something momentarily in his head and involuntarily has him squeeze your waist, which he was still holding onto – and it made you blush further. “Though speaking of - how about a dance?” He suggested, as he moved one hand from your waist and moved it out towards the people who were dancing to the music. Your blush deepened. “That is, if you can manage.” He joked again, looking you up and down before gesturing to your shoes. You hold back an eye-roll.   
“I believe I can manage,” You quip, and your change in attitude broadens Gladio’s grin. “Yes, I would like that.” You affirm. Gladio grins and leads you with his hand still on you – though moving to the small of your back – before turning to face you and repositioning his hand on your waist again. He pulls you near and you inhale in anticipation, but he’s only encouraged as he grabs your left hand and encompasses it with his larger one. You consciously make the decision to keep your composure once more and place your right hand on his broad chest. You look up at him, making sure that you doing so was okay, and he smirks at her – again, making you blush. You don’t think you could take too much more of him looking at you like that.   
You two dance elegantly, and that surprised you to some degree, as you were slightly worried that his large stature would cause you to be thrown around the dance floor. But he led you with grace and with a surprising gentleness that made your heart swoon. Seeing you physically relax – both in body and in your face – he took a few chances throughout the song to twirl you around before drawing you closely back to chest. He enjoyed the smile and deepening blush that appeared on your face each time. You two also made small talk throughout the songs until the third song they were dancing to ends.   
You knew you needed a breather, as you were feeling yourself too quickly falling for this man you merely met a few moments ago, and knew if you kept dancing with him looking the way he does, you would do something foolish.   
“How about a rest?” You ask breathlessly. He stopped from spinning them around before the fourth song began. You saw some hesitation and disappointment light he features momentarily before he regained his composure and quickly added, “I don’t think I can keep spinning.”  
“Alright,” He agreed, though not sounding as confident as before. But despite his wariness of why you would want to stop, he decided to cover up his own nerves and doubts with some more humor. “We better not push our luck. It would be good if you didn’t trip again.” You blush immediately again, feeling the blush creeping down your neck and inkling towards your collarbone.   
“Haha, right.” You laugh bashfully but clear your throat and allow for Gladio to lead you from the center of the dance floor to the edge.   
“How about a breath of fresh air?” He suggests, and you almost physically sighed aloud, thinking it a good idea for the cool air to touch your burning skin, but you held back voicing your relief by biting your lip.   
“Sounds wonderful.” You settle with and smile up at him, which he returns. He kept his hand on your lower back again and guides you towards the large windowed doorway that led to a balcony, which looked over the entire property of the palace. Though your gaze was aimed at the sky, where you got a glorious view of the night sky and all the shimmering stars you hardly got to see from your apartment complex.   
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before.” Gladio mentions as he continues to escort her to the balcony’s edge.   
“For good reason. I wouldn’t usually attend, though not because I never wanted to–“ You cut yourself off before you continue rambling. Come on, think, then speak, you chide yourself. “I’m here for my brother.” You summarize.   
“Oh yeah, and what’s so special about him?” Gladio ridges a curious brow at her.   
“He’s a newly appointed Kingsglaive member, the reason why we’re here tonight.” She smirks slightly.   
“Quite an honor, congrats.” Gladio tipped his head down at her in a gracious acknowledgment.   
“Thank you, (your brother’s name) has worked hard to get here.” She smiled to herself as she remembered the rigorous training she heard him going through and how he’d collapse onto the couch whenever she saw him.   
“(Brother’s name)? So you’re ‘n/n’?”   
“What?” You freeze up and sputter at your brother’s nickname for you, your eyes rounding to the size of dinner plates. “You know my brother?”   
“I recommended him. He’s an exceptional fighter worthy of being a Kingsglaive.” Gladio smiled confidently, which did little to put you at ease.   
“Wow – well, then – please excuse anything you might have heard about me. I’m hoping most of them were lies.” You breathe out exasperatedly. Gladio lets out a rich laugh that littered your skin with goosebumps. Then again, that could be from the slight brisk air out on the balcony.   
“Haha, nothing horrible came up, I promise.” He mused, holding his hands up in a calming matter. You eye him warily from your periphery as you rest your elbows on the balcony’s ledge.   
“…I don’t believe you, but thanks for putting up a nice front.” You tease while giving him a look before returning her full attention to the view before them. Gladio notices a far-off look appear in your eyes. There was a brief pause as the sounds of the night with crickets chirping from below and the whispering wind drifting around you two. Y/N had not expected to have such an amazing night. Granted you were excited to celebrate your brother and were so proud of him, but you never dreamed you’d be next to such a handsome and charming man who knew exactly what to say to get her swooning without even trying. You didn’t know how long you’d be able to survive with your stomach doing as many cartwheels as it was.   
“If you’re trying to figure out what he said, I swear – there’s no need to worry.” Gladio spoke up after a beat, following your lead and leaning his elbows and forearms on the balcony’s ledge while leaning forward. He tried his best to read your face, and you noticed him glancing at your face and began to blush again.   
“No, it’s not that…” You breathe out a laugh and focus your gaze down towards the gardens below. You wanted to hide your expression, as you didn’t like getting caught lost in thought – and you prayed he didn’t suspect you were lost in thought over him.   
“Whatever it is, I think I can take it.” Gladio challenged and nudged your elbow with his, and then never retracted it. Your mind whirled at the consistent contact. Even if you couldn’t feel his skin from underneath his well-tailored suit, you could tell he was well-built. Thinking about him out of a suit made the blush you were sporting crawl down your neck and make its way to the tips of your ears. Knowing you wouldn’t be able to keep it together much longer, you inhale deeply and exhale once you reached an important decision you were mulling over. Let’s hope it doesn’t sound too foolish coming out of her mouth as it sounds bouncing off the walls of her mind.   
“Well, I have been trying to figure out a polite and subtle way at letting you know I’d like to see you again, but haven’t come up with anything.” You couldn’t meet his eyes. Of course, you could feel his eyes on you, but you couldn’t work up the courage to see his reaction at such a bold statement. What made it worse was that Gladio didn’t immediately respond.   
“Heh,” He breathed out after a beat, and the noise made your shoulders tighten. “Like you had to ask,” Gladio exhaled with a slight laugh. At that response, you worked up the nerve to unfreeze yourself and slowly turn towards Gladio again. You peer into his eyes and found immense sincerity and charm that you knew was there when first meeting him. There was also a deep satisfaction rolling off of him. “Funny enough, I was waiting for a good time to ask you that myself.” Gladio admits with a smirk, as he positions his body so he was facing you fully this time, his shoulders ever broad and one elbow still leaning on the ledge. You can’t seem to stop blushing so you stop trying to fight it, and you find that accepting it helps it not burn as much as it did when caught up in the suspense of the moment previously. Despite Gladio confirming his interests in you were matched with your interest in him, you look down bashfully, still feeling dizzy and not wanting to ruin the moment. You had no idea what to do now that the air had been cleared.   
Once again, Gladio was mystified by your bashfulness but didn’t find you any less charming or enjoyable to be around. Though he didn’t want you hiding from him anymore. To get your attention, he moves away from the ledge and moves to place a hand on your hip, knowing it would gain a reaction from you. He could feel you tense at the contact, as if it was the first time he’s touched you, but did not falter in drawing you away from the railing and closer to his chest. To his relief, you begin to relax in his light grasp as you once again were made to look up at him. The insistent blush that was already encompassing your cheeks and tinting your ears now completely consumed them in a red glow. Gladio was really enjoying the color red on you.   
Gladio smiles at your reaction and decides to push his chances further. He brushes a loose strand of hair out of your face, even more satisfied at seeing your face completely in the soft moonlight. You freeze when his eyes transfixed on your own. You gasp quietly, forgetting how to breathe. Feeling your chest slightly brush against his own, his smile morphs into a confident smirk and grows as he begins to lean in. You knew you were about to get lost in the moment, and you would gladly savor it, but you still had a question on the tip of your tongue that you had to get out before you could have your breath taken away once more. You use your free hand to place two fingers on Gladio’s lips. Gladio’s eyes were half-lidded at this point, but at your movement and gentle touch his eyes shoot open in surprise and you almost feel bad when some sadness and doubt flutter across his eyes.   
“Tomorrow, dinner - 7?” You ask hesitantly. If Gladio’s eyes could widen further, they would have at how taken aback he was before smirking and squeezing the hand that was still clamped onto her waist. Your smile grows as you remove your fingers slowly from his lips and move to cup your hand around the side of his neck. The red of her blush seems to spill onto Gladio and you were awestruck at how the light dust of pink on his cheeks heightened his jawline and the scar on his face. You can’t think back to a moment where you’ve ever been so bold with a man, but you were glad you were taking such a chance with him.   
“Meet me at the front of the castle.” Gladio almost whispered as he continued his path towards your lips again.   
“Perfect.” You whisper as if it was a prayer and you place your other hand on his shoulder. Gladio smirks again for what would be the hundredth time that night since meeting you and closes the gap between you two to finally kiss you. Immediately you reciprocate – your eyes fluttering closed along with his – and move the hand that was on his shoulder to join the other up to his neck and your hand goes to reach the hair behind his ear. At your actions, Gladio’s grip on your hip tightens once more while his other arm wraps its way around your bare back, which brings you flush to his chest.   
After almost a minute of sharing kisses, each resonating with the same amount of passion and gentleness you’ve both craved, you part and look up at him dreamily. Gladio’s smirk has not fazed but his eyes have softened at seeing her so content with the kiss.   
“Well, the night’s still young – and I’m not ready to let you go just yet.” Gladio says with a deep rumble that once again gave you chills. You move your hands from his neck to his chest.   
“Who said I was going anywhere?” You reply with a smirk of your own, finally feeling confident after so much anticipation.   
“Then let’s keep dancing” Gladio invites while stepping away too quickly for your liking but leaving an arm extended out for you to take. You graciously with a big smile on your face nod and loop your arm with his. His other hand not linked with your arm finds your hands and he rhythmically rubs his thumb along the top of your hand. He guides you to the door back into the ballroom to continue their magical night.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading~


End file.
